the world of private banking
the world of private banking
the world of private banking
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CHAPTER 11<br />
Private Banks and Industry in <strong>the</strong> Light <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> Archives <strong>of</strong> Bank Sal. Oppenheim jr. &<br />
Cie., Cologne<br />
Gabriele Teichmann<br />
The Oppenheim Bank and its Role in <strong>the</strong> History <strong>of</strong> Industrialization<br />
In 1789, <strong>the</strong> 17-year-old youngster Salomon Oppenheim jr. from Bonn founded a<br />
commission agency and bill-trading business on his own account. He came from a<br />
family belonging to <strong>the</strong> group <strong>of</strong> so-called court Jews who provided <strong>the</strong> splendid<br />
court <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Prince Elector in that city with luxury goods and money. In 1794,<br />
however, <strong>the</strong> Rhineland was conquered by French revolutionary troops and <strong>the</strong><br />
Prince Elector left, never to return. Salomon Oppenheim realized that Bonn held<br />
no future for him, and <strong>the</strong>refore moved to <strong>the</strong> ancient trading city <strong>of</strong> Cologne,<br />
where <strong>the</strong> bank has retained its principal seat ever since. <br />
The time and place <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> bank’s establishment are important in order to assess<br />
its role in <strong>the</strong> industrialization process. After <strong>the</strong> French conquest and <strong>the</strong> formal<br />
integration into <strong>the</strong> French Republic in 1797, <strong>the</strong> Rhineland suddenly shared <strong>the</strong><br />
most advanced and dynamic political, social and economic system <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> day. The<br />
Ancien Régime was abolished, while <strong>the</strong> introduction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Code civil and <strong>the</strong> Code<br />
de commerce <strong>of</strong>fered a degree <strong>of</strong> freedom for <strong>the</strong> individual never experienced<br />
before. The Rhenish Jews benefited to an even greater extent from <strong>the</strong> new order<br />
because <strong>the</strong>y were granted full emancipation for <strong>the</strong> first time in history, at least<br />
until Napoleon’s Décret Infâme <strong>of</strong> 1808 again cut back on <strong>the</strong>ir civil rights. Thus,<br />
<strong>the</strong> modern age began earlier in <strong>the</strong> Rhineland than anywhere else in Germany,<br />
and French rule paved <strong>the</strong> way for modern industrial Cologne. <br />
Around 1800, <strong>banking</strong> in Germany was dominated by <strong>the</strong> <strong>private</strong> bankers <strong>of</strong><br />
Frankfurt – among <strong>the</strong>m most prominently Meyer Amschel Rothschild – who<br />
siphoned <strong>of</strong>f almost <strong>the</strong> whole public loan business. Accordingly, bankers elsewhere<br />
found <strong>the</strong>mselves forced to open up new business fields. Those <strong>of</strong> Cologne turned<br />
<br />
For overall information about <strong>the</strong> history <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Oppenheim Bank, see M. Stürmer, G.<br />
Teichmann and W. Treue, Wägen und Wagen: Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie.: Geschichte einer<br />
Bank und einer Familie (Munich, 3rd edn, 1994); English edition: Striking <strong>the</strong> Balance:<br />
Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. A Family and a Bank (London, 1994).<br />
<br />
R. Tilly, Financial Institutions and Industrialization in <strong>the</strong> Rhineland 1815–1870,<br />
(Madison, 1966), p. 12–13.